Positioning individual three-dimensional model teeth based on two-dimensional images

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for generating a 3D model of a dentition are disclosed herein. A method includes generating a first 3D model of a dentition. The dentition includes a model tooth in a first position. The method includes receiving a digital representation comprising a patient tooth. The patient tooth corresponds to the model tooth of the first 3D model. The method includes determining a virtual camera parameter associated with the digital representation. The method includes adjusting the virtual camera parameter to determine a 3D position of the corresponding patient tooth. The method includes moving the model tooth of the first 3D model from the first position to a second position. The second position corresponds to the 3D position of the corresponding patient tooth. The method includes generating a second 3D model comprising the model tooth of the first 3D model in the second position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Continuation to U.S. application Ser. No.17/831,587, filed on Jun. 3, 2022, entitled “POSITIONING INDIVIDUALTHREE-DIMENSIONAL MODEL TEETH BASED ON TWO-DIMENSIONAL IMAGES”, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of dental imagingand treatment, and more specifically, to systems and methods forgenerating a digital dentition model.

BACKGROUND

Orthodontic treatment is often used to reposition a patient's teeth.Monitoring the patient's teeth during treatment ensures the teeth moveas expected to a desired position. In-person appointments areinconvenient and time consuming, and specialized equipment formonitoring treatment can be expensive or difficult to correctly use.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, this disclosure is directed to a method. The methodincludes generating, by one or more processors, a first 3D model of adentition. The dentition includes a plurality of model teeth. The methodincludes receiving, by the one or more processors, at least one digitalrepresentation comprising a plurality of patient teeth. The methodincludes determining, by the one or more processors, a virtual cameraparameter associated with a virtual camera. The virtual camera parametercorresponds with a parameter of a camera used to capture the at leastone digital representation. The method includes comparing, by the one ormore processors based on the virtual camera parameter, a first positionof a model tooth of the first 3D model with a position of acorresponding patient tooth of the at least one digital representation.The method includes moving, by the one or more processors, the modeltooth of the first 3D model from the first position to a secondposition, wherein the second position is based on the positon of thecorresponding patient tooth. The method includes generating, by the oneor more processors, a second 3D model comprising the model tooth of thefirst 3D model in the second position.

In one aspect, this disclosure is directed to a system. The systemincludes a processor and a memory. The memory is coupled with theprocessor. The memory is configured to store instructions that, whenexecuted by the processor, cause the processor to generate a first 3Dmodel of a dentition. The dentition includes a plurality of model teeth.The instructions cause the processor to receive at least one digitalrepresentation comprising a plurality of patient teeth. The instructionscause the processor to determine a virtual camera parameter associatedwith a virtual camera. The virtual camera parameter corresponds with aparameter of a camera used to capture the at least one digitalrepresentation. The instructions cause the processor to compare, basedon the virtual camera parameter, a first position of a model tooth ofthe first 3D model with a position of a corresponding patient tooth ofthe at least one digital representation. The instructions cause theprocessor to move the model tooth of the first 3D model from the firstposition to the second position. The second position is based on theposition of the corresponding patient tooth. The instructions cause theprocessor to generate a second 3D model comprising the model tooth ofthe first 3D model in the second position.

In yet another aspect, this disclosure is directed to a non-transitorycomputer readable medium that stores instructions. The instructions,when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to generate a first 3D model of a dentition. The dentitionincludes a plurality of model teeth. The instructions cause the one ormore processors to receive at least one digital representationcomprising a plurality of patient teeth. The instructions cause the oneor more processors to determine a virtual camera parameter associatedwith a virtual camera. The virtual camera parameter corresponds with aparameter of a camera used to capture the at least one digitalrepresentation. The instructions cause the one or more processors tocompare, based on the virtual camera parameter, a first position of amodel tooth of the first 3D model with a position of a correspondingpatient tooth of the at least one digital representation. Theinstructions cause the one or more processors to move the model tooth ofthe first 3D model from the first position to a second position. Thesecond position is based on the actual relative 3D position of thecorresponding patient tooth as reflected in the images. The instructionscause the one or more processors to generate a second 3D modelcomprising the model tooth of the first 3D model in the second position.

Various other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure will becomeapparent based on the drawings and detailed description of the followingdisclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a system for dental modeling,according to an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 2 shows a 3D model of a dentition, according to an illustrativeembodiment.

FIG. 3 shows a digital representation, according to various illustrativeembodiments.

FIG. 4 shows a digital representation, according to an illustrativeembodiment.

FIG. 5 shows an extrinsic virtual camera parameter, according to variousillustrative embodiments.

FIG. 6 shows an extrinsic virtual camera parameter, according to variousillustrative embodiments.

FIG. 7 shows an intrinsic virtual camera parameter, according to variousillustrative embodiments.

FIG. 8 shows dentition data disposed in a normalized device coordinatespace, according to an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 9 shows a tooth movement of a model tooth of a 3D model, accordingto an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 10 shows a diagram of a method of generating a 3D model of adentition, according to an illustrative embodiment.

FIG. 11 shows a diagram of a method of generating a 3D model dentition,according to an illustrative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before turning to the figures, which illustrate certain exampleembodiments in detail, it should be understood that the presentdisclosure is not limited to the details or methodology set forth in thedescription or illustrated in the figures. It should also be understoodthat the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description onlyand should not be regarded as limiting.

Referring generally to the figures, described herein are systems andmethods for generating a 3D model of a patient's dentition. The systemsand methods disclosed herein may be used for purposes of monitoringorthodontic treatment, as well as creation of new treatment plansincluding, for example, treatment plans for refinements, mid-coursecorrections, or touch-ups. According to various embodiments, a computingdevice analyzes one or more digital representations of a dentition(e.g., a 2D image, a plurality of 2D images, a video, a mesh, tabulardata, etc.) to determine a position of at least one tooth of thedentition. The digital representation may be captured while the patientis undergoing orthodontic treatment or after the patient has undergoneorthodontic treatment. For example, a patient may use an intraoraldevice (e.g., dental aligner, retainer, braces, etc.) to move at leastone tooth from a first position to a second position, or to retain theposition of the tooth in the case of a retainer. Based on the positionof the at least one tooth from the digital representation, the computingdevice can move a model tooth of a 3D digital model of a dentition to aposition corresponding to the position of the at least one tooth fromthe digital representation. For example, the computing device maygenerate a first 3D digital model of a dentition with model teeth in afirst position. The first 3D model may correspond with the patient ormay be a template model. The computing system may receive a 2D image ofthe patient's tooth in a position. Based on the 2D image, the computingsystem can move a corresponding tooth of the 3D digital model from thefirst position to a second position to represent the position of thepatient's tooth from the 2D image. The position of the patient's toothmay be an actual relative 3D position of the patient tooth as reflectedin the 2D image.

The technical solutions of the systems and methods disclosed hereinimprove the technical field of monitoring a patient's dentition and themovement of the patient's teeth due to natural causes or due toorthodontic treatment and devices and the technology associatedtherewith. For example, in various embodiments, the accuracy, speed, andefficiency of generating a 3D digital model of a patient's dentition isimproved. The efficiency is improved by using less data than traditionalimaging and monitoring processes and by using data that is captured bythe patient instead of captured by a dental professional (e.g., a dentaltechnician, a dentist or orthodontist, or other staff member) at anin-person office visit. For example, the 3D digital model can be basedon a template model eliminating the need to obtain data associated withthe patient from two separate time periods. Additionally, the dataassociated with the patient used to generate the 3D model can becaptured via a user device associated with the patient (e.g., a cameraof a smart phone). This eliminates the need for expensive equipment suchas x-rays and intraoral scanners and the need for the patient to visit aprofessional's office to gather the data necessary to generate the 3Dmodel. The speed of generating models is improved by analyzing all datathat is relevant to indicate new positions of teeth. Simultaneousincorporation of all relevant data from multiple sources improves andallows for more informed assessment of teeth positions which leads to amore efficient (therefore, faster) algorithm. For example, a pluralityof images may be received from a patient from different imaging anglesand combined with prior information about anticipated teeth movements tobetter govern updating the 3D tooth model. Further, the system does notwaste time analyzing images that do not show the corresponding patienttooth, that are too blurry or otherwise obscure the patient tooth, orthat only include data that was already provided by a different image(e.g., a duplicate). The accuracy is improved by focusing the analysisand computations on data that is clear and directed toward the immediatetask and removing or ignoring data that may differ from or contradictother data. Accuracy is also improved by iteratively solving for aposition of a patient tooth shown in a 2D image to account for anydistortion, perspective, etc. of the device that captured the image.This ensures the position of the model tooth in the 3D model matches theposition of the corresponding tooth from the 2D images.

Furthermore, receiving 2D images from a camera and using only thoseimages that are relevant and useful to the task being performed reducesthe computational load on the system and reduces the memory space usedto perform the tasks. For example, the computational load is reduced byreducing the amount of data analyzed. Instead of large comprehensivescan files and x-ray files, the system disclosed herein can use 2Dimages obtained by the patient's own smartphone, including 2D imagesobtained from videos. Instead of analyzing every image received fordetermining the location of each tooth, a subset of the images are usedbased on relevancy, quality, duplicity, etc. The memory space used isreduced by using smaller data files (e.g., 2D image vs. x-ray image,etc.) and deleting or removing data from the system that is not relevantor useful.

Additional benefits of the technical solutions disclosed herein include,but are not limited to, enabling a user to determine when individualteeth are or are not moving (e.g., tooth ankylosis), detecting unwantedtooth movements, and generating an accurate 3D model of a patient'sdentition that can be used for various purposes. For example, the 3Dmodel can be used for monitoring a treatment plan, creating a newtreatment plan (e.g., refinements, mid-course corrections, touch-ups,etc.), and generating new data that can be used to refine and adaptcurrent protocols for creating new treatment plans. Furthermore, all ofthis can be done without the need for specialized hardware. For example,a user device (e.g., smartphone) capable of capturing an image can beused to generate the 3D model. The systems and methods disclosed hereinrequire no specialized machines or equipment apart from a smartphone ordigital camera. For example, this solution requires no use of x-raymachines, intraoral scanners, impression kits, monitoring scan boxes,etc. The systems and methods also require no specialized training orexpertise from a patient or user of the system. The systems and methodsalso require no knowledge of a treatment plan to generate the 3D modelof the patient's dentition. This solution allows treatment progress tobe determined remotely and increases patient engagement during thetreatment by keeping the user informed (e.g., more frequent statusupdates regarding tooth movement) and simplifying the process (e.g., notrips to the dentist's office).

Referring to FIG. 1 , a dental modeling computing system 100 forgenerating a digital representation of a patient's dentition is shown,according to an exemplary embodiment. The dental modeling computingsystem 100 is shown to include a processing engine 101. Processingengine 101 may include a memory 102 and a processor 104. The memory 102(e.g., memory, memory unit, storage device) may include one or moredevices (e.g., RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, optical disk storage, magneticdisk storage or other magnetic storage devices, flash memory, hard diskstorage, or any other medium) for storing data and/or computer code forcompleting or facilitating the various processes, layers, and circuitsdescribed in the present disclosure. The memory 102 may be or includetransitory memory or non-transitory memory, and may include databasecomponents, object code components, script components, or any other typeof information structure for supporting the various activities andinformation structures described in the present disclosure. According toan illustrative embodiment, the memory 102 is communicably connectedwith the processor 104 and includes computer code for executing (e.g.,by the processor 104) the processes described herein.

The processor 104 may be a general purpose single-chip or multi-chipprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), orother programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic,discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed toperform the functions described herein. A general purpose processor maybe a microprocessor or any conventional processor, controller,microcontroller, or state machine. The processor 104 may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration. In some embodiments, particular processes and methods maybe performed by circuitry that is specific to a given function.

The dental modeling computing system 100 may include various modules orbe comprised of a system of processing engines. The processing engine101 may be configured to implement the instructions and/or commandsdescribed herein with respect to the processing engines. The processingengines may be or include any device(s), component(s), circuit(s), orother combination of hardware components designed or implemented toreceive inputs for and/or automatically generate outputs based on aninitial digital representation of an intraoral device. As shown in FIG.1 , in some embodiments, the dental modeling computing system 100 mayinclude a model generation engine 106, a digital representationprocessing engine 108, a virtual camera processing engine 110, and atooth positioning engine 112. While these engines 106-112 are shown inFIG. 1 , it is noted that the dental modeling computing system 100 mayinclude any number of processing engines, including additional engineswhich may be incorporated into, supplement, or replace one or more ofthe engines shown in FIG. 1 .

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 , dental modeling computing system 100may be configured to generate a 3D model (e.g., a 3D digital model) of adentition. For example, model generation engine 106 may be configured togenerate a 3D model 200 of a dentition. The 3D model 200 may include aplurality of model teeth 202. The 3D model 200 may include a mesh for abase of the dentition (e.g., the gingiva). The 3D model 200 may includean individual mesh for each individual model tooth 202. The one or moreindividual model teeth 202 may be based on either a template model(e.g., indicate a generic orientation of a dentition not associated witha patient) or may be based on an actual shape of a patient's dentition(e.g., indicate an actual orientation of a patient's dentition at somepoint in time). For example, a geometry of a model tooth 202 may bebased on previously obtained data from the patient, including but notlimited to a 3D scan, an impression, or a picture of the patient'sdentition. In another example, the geometry of the model tooth 202 maybe based on a template model dentition. For example, memory 102 mayinclude a template dentition library. The template dentition library mayinclude template data of a dentition. For example, the templatedentition library may include at least one template model dentition witha template geometry that includes template model teeth 202 with templategeometries or data regarding a template dentition (e.g., images,dimensions, geometries, scans, treatment plans, etc. of the templatedentition). The template may be obtained from a single case librarylook-up, or may be based on individual teeth positions using historictreatment plan data. As described herein, the dental modeling computingsystem 100 may be configured to determine an actual geometry of apatient tooth. As the geometry of a patient tooth is determined, themodel generation engine 106 may be configured to modify the shape of thetemplate model tooth 202 to better resemble the actual geometry of thepatient tooth. This can be performed for any number of template modelteeth.

In some embodiments, the dental modeling computing system 100 may beconfigured to segment the 3D digital model of the dentition. Forexample, the model generation engine 106 may be configured to segment 3Ddigital model 200 of the dentition. For example, 3D digital model 200may include a plurality of model teeth 202. Model generation engine 106may be configured to identify individual model teeth 202 of the 3Ddigital model 200. The model generation engine 106 may assign a label204 to each model tooth 202. For example, the label 204 may includetooth numbers according to, for example, FDI World Dental Federationnotation, the universal numbering system, Palmer notation, or any otherlabeling/naming convention.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3 , the dental modeling computing system100 may be configured to receive at least one digital representation 116of a dentition. For example, digital representation processing engine108 of the dental modeling computing system 100 may be configured toreceive at least one digital representation 116 of a dentition. Thedentition may be associated with a patient. The digital representation116 may include data corresponding to a plurality of patient teeth. Forexample, the digital representation 116 may be a 2D image, a video, amesh, tabular data, or population-level information about most probabletooth movements, among others. The 2D image and video may be captured byany device capable of capturing images and videos (e.g., a smart phone).The tabular data may include, for example, a patient's subjectiveassessment of dental aligner fit. In some embodiments, the digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 may receive a plurality of digitalrepresentations 116. The plurality of digital representations 116 mayinclude at least one of a plurality of individually taken images or avideo. For example, the digital representation processing engine 108 mayreceive a plurality of 2D images. In some embodiments, the plurality ofdigital representations 116 may include images of the same dentitionfrom different perspectives. In some embodiments, the plurality ofdigital representations 116 may include images of the same dentitionwith different expressions. For example, a digital representationprocessing engine 108 may receive a first 2D image including aperspective view 302 of the dentition. The digital representationprocessing engine 108 may receive a second 2D image including a fullfront view 304 of the dentition. The full front view 304, for example,may include both top and bottom teeth of the dentition. For example, apatient may use a lip retractor (e.g., a dental appliance, patient'sfingers, household items, etc.) such that all teeth, and all visibleportions of the teeth that are visible from a front view are shown inthe second 2D image. The dental appliance can be configured to hold openthe user's upper and lower lips simultaneously to permit visualizationof the user's teeth and further configured to continue holding open theuser's upper and lower lips in a hands-free manner after beingpositioned at least partially within the user's mouth. The dentalappliance can include a single handle having two ends and a pair offlanges at each end of the handle, each pair of flanges can be U-shaped,thereby forming a cavity between the flanges, and each cavity can beconfigured to receive a portion of the user's upper and lower lips. Thehandle can be arch-shaped such that when the dental appliance ispositioned at least partially within the user's mouth to hold open theuser's upper and lower lips the handle does not obstruct the user's openmouth such that the handle does not obstruct any of the user's teethwhen one or more photos are taken of the user's mouth from a front view.A length of the handle, a size of the flanges, and a size of each cavitybetween the flanges can be adjustable or non-adjustable. The dentalappliance can be formed as a single unitary component or made up ofseparate and discrete components.

The digital representation processing engine 108 may receive a third 2Dimage including a partial front view 306 of the dentition. The partialfront view 306, for example, may include only the top or only the bottomteeth of the dentition. The digital representation processing engine 108may be configured to receive any number and any combination of digitalrepresentations 116 of the dentition. In some embodiments, the digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 may receive a video of a pluralityof patient teeth. The digital representation processing engine 108 maybe configured to transform the video into a plurality of 2D images.)

The digital representation processing engine 108 may be configured toreceive the at least one digital representation 116 from an externalcomputing system, such as user device 114. Examples of the user device114 may include, but are not limited to, a mobile phone a tabletcomputer, a laptop computer, a smart watch, or any otherinternet-connected device. The user device 114 can be a personal userdevice 114 of a patient. For example, the user device 114 can be thepatient's own mobile phone. The user device 114 may be configured tocapture the digital representation 116. For example, the user device 114may include a camera configured to capture a 2D image. The user device114 may be configured to transmit the digital representation 116 and thedigital representation processing engine 108 may be configured toreceive the digital representation 116 from the user device 114. Theuser device 114 may capture digital representations 116 by using similarprocesses to those described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.17/581,811, titled “Machine Learning Architecture for Imaging ProtocolDetector,” filed Jan. 21, 2022, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

The user device 114 may be configured to send communications to, andreceive communications from, a cloud server. The user device 114 maycommunicate to, and receive communications from the cloud server byusing similar processes to those described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/711,173, titled “Scanning Device,” filed Dec. 11, 2019, thecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.For example, the user device 114 can communicate information regardingimages captured or received from other computing devices to the cloudserver such that the cloud server can perform further operations. Theuser device 114 can communicate with the cloud server in a variety ofways including, but not limited to, Bluetooth, a WiFi network, a wiredlocal area network (LAN), Zigbee, or any other suitable way for devicesto exchange information. In some embodiments, the user device 114includes a radiofrequency transceiver to communicate with one or moreradio towers to transmit and/or receive information using radio waves.In some embodiments, the radiofrequency transceiver includes a singleband transceiver. In some embodiments, the radiofrequency transceiverincludes a dual band transceiver.

The cloud server may be communicably coupled to the user device 114. Inaddition to being communicably coupled to the user device 114, the cloudserver can be communicably coupled to a plurality of user devices 114.The cloud server may be configured to receive digital representations116 from the user device 114 and perform additional operations on thedata in order to prepare the digital representations to send to thedental modeling computing system 100. The additional operations thecloud server can perform include, but are not limited to,high-resolution reconstruction of digital representations 116 andconverting the digital representation 116 to one or more 3D images. Thecloud server can communicate the results of the additional operations tothe dental modeling computing system 100.

In addition, the cloud server may be configured to analyze the datareceived from the plurality of user devices 114 to which the cloudserver is communicably coupled, and provide the output of the analysisto the dental modeling computing system 100 via the user device 114. Forexample, the cloud server may determine, based on the analysis of aplurality of digital representations, that patients must hold a camerawithin a certain angular tolerance. The cloud server can provide thatinformation to user device 114 such that patient can capture digitalrepresentations 116 from the proper orientation. The dental modelingcomputing system 100 may also be communicably coupled to the cloudserver and may be configured to receive the digital representations 116from the cloud server and generate one or more 3D models based on thedigital representations 116.

A tower network may include a plurality of towers. The towers can bereferred to as cellular towers, radio towers, base stations, basetransceiver stations, etc., and include equipment for cellularcommunication. For example, the towers may include various antennae,transmitters, receivers, transceivers, digital signal processors,control electronics, global positioning receivers, and electrical powersources. The towers may be configured such that each of the towers cansend and receive signals within a specified area (e.g., a cell).Typically, the area in which each of the towers can send and receivesignals is shaped approximately like a hexagon. For example, a firsttower can send and receive signals (e.g., data) within a first area, asecond tower can send and receive signals within a second area, and athird tower can send and receive signals within a third area. To send asignal from an originating location to a destination location, eachtower can send a signal to a tower within an adjacent area. For example,the first tower can send a signal to the second tower when the firstarea is adjacent to the second area.

The user device 114 may transmit signals (e.g., radio signals containingdata related to a digital representation 116) to communicate with thecloud server. For example, when the user device 114 is within the firstarea, the signal reaches the first tower. From the first tower, thesignal may be sent to the second tower because the first area isadjacent to the second area, and from the second tower the signal may besent to the third tower because the second area is adjacent to the thirdarea.

In some embodiments, the signals sent by the user device 114 includemultiple digital signals, multiple analog signals, or a combination ofmultiple digital and analog signals. In such embodiments, the multiplesignals are combined into one signal using multiplexing protocols toreduce the resources required to send the signal. In an exampleembodiment, frequency division multiplexing (FDM) can be used to combinethe signals. In FDM, each user is assigned a different frequency fromthe complete frequency spectrum such that all frequencies can travelsimultaneously. In another example embodiment, time divisionmultiplexing (TDM) can be used to combine the signals. In TDM, a singleradio frequency is divided into multiple slots and each slot is assignedto a different user such that multiple users can be supportedsimultaneously. In yet another example embodiment, code divisionmultiplexing (CDMA) can be used to combine the signals. In CDMA, severalusers share the same frequency spectrum simultaneously and aredifferentiated via unique codes assigned to each user. The receiver issupplied with the unique keys such that the user can be identified bythe receiver.

In some embodiments, the signal is sent via a packet switching process.In a packet switching process, the signal (e.g., the data being sent) isdivided into smaller parts called packets. The packets are then sentindividually from the source (e.g., the user device 114) to thedestination (e.g., the cloud server). In some embodiments, each packetcan follow a different path to the destination, and the packets canarrive out of order at the destination, where the packets are assembledin order (e.g., a datagram approach). In some embodiments, each packetfollows the same path to the destination, and the packets arrive in thecorrect order (e.g., a virtual circuit approach).

Accordingly, any data acquired by the user device 114 can becommunicated to the cloud server or the dental modeling computing system100 by way of or not by way of a cloud server using the tower network.In some embodiments, the processes performed by dental modelingcomputing system 100 can be performed by the cloud server. In someembodiments, any data acquired by the user device 114 can becommunicated using one or more towers of the tower network. For example,digital representation 116 of the user's teeth captured by the userdevice 114 can be communicated to the cloud server or the dentalmodeling computing system 100 by way of one or more towers of the towernetwork. Additionally, digital representations of the user's teethcaptured by the user device 114 can be communicated directly to otherlocations (e.g., the office of a dental professional, etc.) by way ofone or more of the towers for diagnostic purposes, treatment purposes,or any other purpose. In some cases, communicating digitalrepresentation data over the tower network is advantageous over othermethods of communication. For example, the digital representation datacan be more efficiently communicated when broken up into smaller sizedpackets or smaller file sizes and separately communicated over the towernetwork rather than being communicated in a large file size or largerpackets when using other methods of communication.

In some embodiments, the digital representation processing engine 108may be configured to filter the digital representations 116. Forexample, the digital representation processing engine 108 may receive aplurality of digital representations 116. The digital representationprocessing engine 108 may be configured to designate a subset of thedigital representations 116 as at least one of useful or not useful. Forexample, a digital representation 116 designated as useful may befocused (e.g., clear, not blurry) such that the digital representationprocessing engine 108 may clearly identify individual teeth. A digitalrepresentation 116 designated as not useful may be out of focus or tooblurry to distinguish between teeth. In some embodiments, a digitalrepresentation 116 designated as not useful may include teeth that arenot going to be analyzed by the digital representation processing engine108. For example, when the digital representation processing engine 108is to analyze a bottom jaw of a patient, digital representations 116including only teeth of the top jaw can be designated as not useful. Insome embodiments, a digital representation 116 designated as not usefulmay be a duplicate of another digital representation 116. A duplicatedigital representation 116 may include substantially the sameinformation as another digital representation 116. For example, a firstdigital representation 116 may include the same perspective, expression,camera parameter (described in more detail below), etc., or anycombination thereof as a second digital representation 116. A digitalrepresentation 116 may be designated as a duplicate when the digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 determines that information from afirst digital representation 116 can be obtained from a second digitalrepresentation 116. The digital representation processing engine 108 maybe configured to apply a threshold to determine whether a digitalrepresentation 116 is a duplicate. For example, if a predeterminedpercentage (e.g., 90%) of the information from a first digitalrepresentation 116 can be obtained from a second digital representation116, the digital representation processing engine 108 may determine thefirst digital representation 116 is a duplicate.

The digital representation processing engine 108 may be configured toignore the subset of the plurality of digital representations 116designated as not useful. In one embodiment, the digital representationprocessing engine 108 may be configured to store the subset of theplurality of digital representations 116 that are designated as notuseful in the memory 102 of the dental modeling computing system 100.The dental modeling computing system 100 may be configured to performfurther analysis, computations, processing, etc. on the subsetdesignated as useful while not performing the analysis, computations,processing, etc., on the subset designated as not useful. For example,the dental modeling computing system 100 may be configured to determinea second position of a model tooth based on the subset of the pluralityof digital representations associated with the corresponding patienttooth. This technological solution reduces the computational bandwidthneeded to perform the methods disclosed herein by reducing the quantityof computations the dental modeling computing system 100 performs byreducing the number of digital representations 116 the dental modelingcomputing system 100 analyzes, processes, computes, etc.

In other embodiments, the digital representation processing engine 108may be configured to delete or remove the subset of the plurality ofdigital representations 116 that are designated as not useful. Forexample, the digital representation processing engine 108 can remove thesubset of the plurality of digital representations 116 that aredesignated as not useful from the dental modeling computing system 100.Along with reducing the computational bandwidth needed to perform themethods disclose herein, this technological solution reduces the amountof storage needed to store and analyze the digital representations 116by removing the not useful digital representations 116 from the system.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 4 , the digital representation processingengine 108 may be configured to segment teeth from the digitalrepresentation 116. Similar to the segmentation described with referenceto FIG. 2 regarding the 3D digital model 200, the digital representationprocessing engine 108 may be configured to segment the digitalrepresentation 116. For example, the digital representation 116 can be a2D image of a patient's dentition. The 2D image may include a pluralityof patient teeth 402. The digital representation processing engine 108may be configured to identify the individual patient teeth 402 of the 2Dimage. The digital representation processing engine 108 may assign alabel 404 to each individual patient tooth 402. The digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 may apply a labeling convention tothe patient teeth based on the labeling convention applied by the modelgeneration engine 106 to the model teeth 202 (e.g., the model teeth 202are labeled according to the same labeling convention as the patientteeth 402).

In some embodiments, the digital representation processing engine 108may be configured to organize or classify a plurality of digitalrepresentations 116 based on content of each of the plurality of digitalrepresentations 116. For example, the digital representation processingengine 108 may associate a subset of the plurality of digitalrepresentations 116 with a corresponding patient tooth 402. For example,the digital representation processing engine 108 may identify the subsetof the plurality of digital representations 116. The subset of theplurality of digital representations 116 may include the digitalrepresentations 116 that show a first patient tooth 402. In someembodiments, the digital representation processing engine 108 mayassociate a digital representation 116 including the first patient tooth402 with the first patient tooth 402. In some embodiments, the subset ofthe plurality of digital representations 116 may include the digitalrepresentations 116 that show a predetermined portion of the firstpatient tooth 402. The digital representation processing engine 108 mayassociate the digital representation 116 with the first patient tooth402 if at least the predetermined portion of the first patient tooth 402is shown in the digital representation 116. The predetermined portionmay be configured to identify digital representations 116 wherein thepatient tooth 402 is unobstructed enough to obtain positioning data ofthe patient tooth 402. For example, the digital representationprocessing engine 108 may associate the digital representation 116 withthe first patient tooth 402 if fifty percent of a face of the firstpatient tooth 402 is visible. However, it will be appreciated that thepercentage can be any predefined number (e.g., ten percent, twentypercent, fifty percent, seventy percent, ninety percent, etc.). Inanother example, the digital representation processing engine 108 mayassociate the digital representation 116 with the first patient tooth402 if 50 mm² of the first patient tooth 402 is visible. However, itwill be appreciated that the surface area can be any predefined number(e.g., 5 mm², 10 mm², 20 mm², 30 mm², 50², 80 mm², etc.). For example,referring to FIG. 4 , the digital representation processing engine 108may associate the digital representation 116 with Tooth 8 since a wholefront surface of Tooth 8 is visible. The digital representationprocessing engine 108 may not associate the digital representation 116with Tooth 14 because only a small portion of Tooth 14 is visible.However, referring to FIG. 3 , the digital representation processingengine 108 may associate perspective view 302 with Tooth 14 since amajority of the surface of Tooth 14 is visible. Associating a subset ofthe plurality of digital representations 116 with a patient tooth 402can reduce the quantity of calculations the digital representationprocessing engine 108 performs when determining a position of thepatient tooth 402 by reducing the number of digital representations 116to be analyzed and removing digital representations 116 that may providecontradictory or unhelpful positioning data.

In some embodiments, the dental modeling computing system 100 may beconfigured to associate a model tooth 202 with a patient tooth 402. Forexample, the digital representation processing engine 108 of the dentalmodeling computing system 100 may be configured to associate a modeltooth 202 with a patient tooth 402. Based on the segmentation of the 3Ddigital model 200 and the digital representation 116, the digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 may associate a model tooth 202with a patient tooth 402 that has a corresponding label 204, 404. Forexample, the digital representation processing engine 108 may associateModel Tooth 22 with Patient Tooth 22. In some embodiments, the digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 can detect when the digitalrepresentation 116 is segmented incorrectly. For example, the digitalrepresentation 116 may be blurry such that the digital representationprocessing engine 108 cannot identify a space between two patient teeth402, resulting in the digital representation processing engine 108identifying the two patient teeth 402 as a single patient tooth 402. Thedigital representation processing engine 108 may detect an incorrectsegmentation and reject the label 204 if the label 204 falls outside ofpopulation norms (e.g., corresponds with a tooth that is too large ortoo small for the location), if the classifier likelihood for detectionis too low, or because the label does not overlap well with acorresponding object in a projected 3D mesh. For example, to correctlylabel the digital representation 116, the digital representationprocessing engine 108 may be configured to overlay the 3D digital model200 (e.g., a 3D mesh) with the digital representation 116. The digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 may be configured to project alabel from the 3D digital model 200 on to the digital representation116. The digital representation processing engine 108 may be configuredto reject a label in the digital representation 116 if thecorrespondence of the digital representation 116 with the projected 3Dmodel 200 is sufficiently poor (e.g., the objects do not overlap oroverlap very little). If a label is wrong, but overlaps sufficientlywith a different model tooth 202 in the projected 3D mesh, the digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 may determine that the label iscorrect for the different object. The digital representation processingengine 108 may label the digital representation 116 based on thelabel(s) of the 3D digital model 200.

In some embodiments, the dental modeling computing system 100 may beconfigured to designate a feature of a digital representation 116 as anobstruction. For example, the digital representation processing engine108 of the dental modeling computing system 100 may be configured todesignate a feature of the digital representation 116 as an obstruction.An obstruction may be a feature of the digital representation 116 thatblocks a view of a portion of the patient dentition. The feature may notdirectly affect or participate in the positioning of patient teeth. Forexample, an obstruction can include lips, tongue, a dental appliance,fingers, or other elements that may be captured in the digitalrepresentation 116 but does not engage in the positioning of the teeth.The dental appliance can be configured to hold open the user's upper andlower lips simultaneously to permit visualization of the user's teethand further configured to continue holding open the user's upper andlower lips in a hands-free manner after being positioned at leastpartially within the user's mouth so that the patient or a third partyis able to capture digital representations of the patient's teeth. Asexplained in more detail below, the features designated as obstructionsmay affect the movement, and specifically penalties applied to themovement, of the model teeth 202 of the 3D digital model 200.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, and 5-7 , the dental modeling computing system100 may be configured determine at least one virtual camera parameterassociated with a virtual camera. The virtual camera parameter mayinclude at least one value that is representative of a setting of avirtual camera. The virtual camera parameter may correspond with aparameter of a device (e.g., a camera of user device 114) used tocapture a digital representation 116. For example, a virtual cameraparameter may include an extrinsic parameter and/or an intrinsicparameter. Extrinsic parameters may correspond with a position and/ororientation of the virtual camera. For example, an extrinsic parametermay define at least one of a translational matrix or a rotational matrixof a camera of a user device 114. For example, for the translationalmatrix, the extrinsic parameter may define a location of the camera whenthe digital representation was captured. For example, the user device114 may be aligned with or have an offset from a centerline of thepatient's dentition. FIG. 5 shows a plurality of examples of virtualcamera parameters. The virtual camera parameters may be associated withlocations at which a camera of the user device 114 can be when capturinga digital representation 116. For example, when at position 502, thecamera may have an offset 518 (e.g., be vertically above) from ahorizontal centerline 514 of the patient's dentition. At position 504,the user device 114 may be in line with (have no offset 518) thehorizontal centerline 514. At position 506, the camera may have anoffset 518 (e.g., be vertically below) the horizontal centerline 514. Atposition 508, the camera may have an offset 518 (e.g., to the left) froma vertical centerline 516 of the patient's dentition. At position 510,the camera may be aligned with (have no offset 518) the verticalcenterline 516. At position 512, the camera may have an offset 518(e.g., to the right) from the vertical centerline 516.

In some embodiments, for the rotational matrix, the extrinsic parametermay define an orientation (e.g., an angle) of a camera of the userdevice 114. For example, the camera may be parallel with or set at anangle from a center plane of the patient's dentition. FIG. 6 shows aplurality of examples of virtual camera parameters. The virtual cameraparameters may be associated with orientations at which the camera maybe when capturing a digital representation 116. For example, at position602, the camera may be rotated downward at an angle 618 from horizontalplane 614 defined by the patient's dentition. At position 604, thecamera may be angled parallel with the horizontal plane 614. At position606, the camera may be rotated upward at an angle 618 from thehorizontal plane 614. At position 608, the camera may be rotated to theright at an angle 618 from the vertical plane 616. At position 610, thecamera may be angled parallel with the horizontal plane 614. At position612, the camera may be rotated to the left at an angle 618 from thevertical plane 616.

Intrinsic parameters may correspond with how the virtual cameramanipulates a digital representation 116. For example, an intrinsicparameter may define at least one of a perspective or a distortion of acamera (e.g., a camera of a user device 114). For example, a camera maybe configured to distort a digital representation 116 wherein the datacaptured in the digital representation 116 deviates from reality (e.g.,straight lines in reality become curved lines in the digitalrepresentation 116). FIG. 7 shows an undistorted image 702, a pincushiondistortion image 704, and a barrel distortion image 706. The camera mayapply a pincushion distortion to a digital representation 116 such thatlines that do not run through a center if the digital representation isbowed inward toward the center of the digital representation 116. Thecamera may apply a barrel distortion to the digital representation 116such that image magnification decreases with distance away from anoptical axis. The camera may apply any variation and combination ofdistortions to the digital representation 116. The application of adistortion to a digital representation 116 may render a position, size,or orientation, etc. of a patient tooth 402 in the digitalrepresentation 116 to be different than in the patient's actualdentition.

The virtual camera processing engine 110 may be configured to determinea virtual camera parameter associated with a virtual camera. The virtualcamera parameter may correspond with a parameter of a device (e.g., acamera) used to capture a digital representation 116. In someembodiments, the virtual camera processing engine 110 may receive thevirtual camera parameter. For example, the virtual camera processingengine 110 may receive an input indicating a camera settingcorresponding to how the camera deals with, applies, or responds todistortions. For example, a camera may include a setting indicating apicture height distortion. The picture height distortion may be a ratioof bending of a straight line over a height of a picture. The virtualcamera processing engine 110 may receive a value of the picture heightdistortion from the input. The input can include any values associatedwith distortion or perspective settings of the camera. In anotherexample, the position of the camera when capturing the digitalrepresentation 116 may also be received as an input. For example, theinput may indicate that the camera was directly in front of thepatient's dentition when capturing the digital representation 116 or theinput may indicate the translational and/or rotational offset the camerahad when capturing the digital representation.

In some embodiments, the virtual camera processing engine 110 cancalculate the virtual camera parameter. For example, the virtual cameraprocessing engine 110 may be configured to calculate the intrinsicparameters. For example, the dental modeling computing system 100 mayreceive a plurality of digital representations 116. The dental modelingcomputing system 100 may be configured to determine a position of apatient tooth 402 by analyzing the plurality of digital representations116. However, the digital representation processing engine 108 maydetermine a first position of the patient tooth 402 in a first digitalrepresentation 116 is different than a second position of the patienttooth 402 in a second digital representation 116. The virtual cameraprocessing engine 110 may be configured to compare the differencebetween the first position and the second position and determine adistortion value from the comparison. Upon determination of thedistortion value, the distortion value can be applied to other digitalrepresentations 116 in order for the dental modeling computing system100 to determine a correct position of the patient tooth 402. Thevirtual camera processing engine 110 may also be configured to calculatethe extrinsic parameters. Based on a digital representation 116, thevirtual camera processing engine 110 may be configured to identify thelocation and orientation of the camera with respect to the patient'sdentition when the digital representation 116 was captured.

In some embodiments, the virtual camera parameter may be determined inone step and applied to the virtual camera such that correct positionsof the patient teeth 402 can be determined. For example, the virtualcamera processing engine 110 may receive the distortion settings of thecamera and apply those settings to the virtual camera to optimize thegeometry of the patient teeth 402 from the digital representations 116to more accurately reflect a true geometry of the teeth. In otherembodiments, the determination of the virtual camera parameter may be aniterative process. For example, the iterative process may include aplurality of virtual camera parameter adjustments. For example, thevirtual camera processing engine 110 may estimate a virtual cameraparameter based on a first digital representation 116. The virtualcamera processing engine 110 may then adjust the virtual cameraparameter based on a second digital representation 116. The virtualcamera processing engine 110 may adjust the virtual camera parameter anynumber of times. For example, the virtual camera processing engine 110may adjust the virtual camera parameter for every digital representation116 that is analyzed. In some embodiments, the virtual camera processingengine 110 may adjust the virtual camera parameter until there areminimal adjustments to be made. For example, the size of the adjustmentsfor each digital representation 116 has become less than a thresholdvalue such that the virtual camera processing engine 110 can determinethe virtual camera parameter is accurate (e.g. within a predeterminedstandard deviation).

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 8 , the dental modeling computing system100 may be configured to compare a first position of a model tooth 202from a 3D model 200 with a position of a corresponding patient tooth 402from a digital representation 116. For example, the tooth positioningengine 112 may be configured to compare the first position of the modeltooth 202 with the position of the corresponding patient tooth 402. Insome embodiments, tooth positioning engine 112 may use a normalizeddevice coordinate (NDC) space to compare the position of the model tooth202 with the position of the corresponding patient tooth 402. FIG. 8depicts a transformation of an image between a camera space 802 and aNDC space 806, according to an exemplary embodiment. Camera space 802may illustrate a space as seen from a camera's (or a person's) point ofview. For example, the camera space 802 can resemble a 2D image. Thecoordinate system of the camera space 802 may be defined by a positionor axis of the camera. Camera space 802 may be transformed into a 3Dcamera space 804. The 3D camera space 804 may illustrate the same spaceas the camera space 802, but in a 3D coordinate system. The 3D cameraspace 804 may be transformed into the NDC space 806. The NDC space 806can crop the space from the camera space 802 and only include theportion disposed within the defined NDC space 806. In some embodiments,the NDC space 806 may be defined with a coordinate system ranging from(−1, −1, −1) to (1, 1, 1). In other embodiments, the transformation mayinstead move from a 3D space to a 2D space and the 2D space can benormalized. For example, the NDC space may be defined with a coordinatesystem of (−1, −1) to (1, 1).

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 8 , the dental modeling computing system100 may be configured to compare a first position of a model tooth 202from a 3D model 200 with a position of a corresponding patient tooth 402from a digital representation 116. For example, the tooth positioningengine 112 may be configured to compare the first position of the modeltooth 202 with the position of the corresponding patient tooth 402. Insome embodiments, tooth positioning engine 112 may use a normalizeddevice coordinate (NDC) space to compare the position of the model tooth202 with the position of the corresponding patient tooth 402. FIG. 8depicts a transformation of an image between a camera space 802 and aNDC space 804, according to an exemplary embodiment. Camera space 802may illustrate a space as seen from a camera's (or a person's) point ofview. For example, the camera space 802 can resemble a 2D image. Thecoordinate system of the camera space 802 may be defined by a positionor axis of the camera. Camera space 802 may be transformed into a 3Dcamera space 804. The 3D camera space 804 may illustrate the same spaceas the camera space 802, but in a 3D coordinate system. The 3D cameraspace 804 may be transformed into the NDC space 806. The NDC space 806can crop the space from the camera space 802 and only include theportion disposed within the defined NDC space 806. In some embodiments,the NDC space 806 may be defined with a coordinate system ranging from(−1, −1, −1) to (1, 1, 1). In other embodiments, the transformation mayinstead move from a 3D space to a 2D space and the 2D space can benormalized. For example, the NDC space may be defined with a coordinatesystem of (−1, −1) to (1, 1).

In some embodiments, a 3D model may include a 3D mesh. The toothpositioning engine 112 may render down the 3D mesh into the NDC space806. For example, the 3D mesh may be flattened into a point cloud andnormalized in the NDC space. The tooth positioning engine 112 may alsointerpret the segmentation of the 2D digital representation 116performed by the digital representation processing engine 108 as apolygon. A boundary of the polygon may also be disposed and normalizedin the NDC space. The tooth positioning engine 112 may projectidentified keypoints on the 2D digital representation 116 to normalizedNDC space. When the 3D mesh (illustrating the first position of themodel tooth 202) and the 2D polygon or keypoints (illustrating theposition of the corresponding patient tooth 402) are in the NDC space,the tooth positioning engine 112 may calculate an error metric betweenthe 3D mesh and the 2D polygon or keypoints. The error metric can definea difference between the first position of the model tooth 202 and theposition of the corresponding patient tooth 402. For example, the errormetric can determine how much the model tooth 202 will have to move andin which directions the model tooth 202 will have to move in order tomatch the position of the corresponding patient tooth 402.

The 3D model 200 may be updated using an optimizer. The optimizer mayuse one or more error metrics and constraints. For example, a stochasticgradient descent may be applied to update the 3D model based on theerror metric. Optimizer constraints may include penalties to dissuadeimprobable tooth movements. Optimizer constraint penalties may beinformed from customer-specific information or population-specificinformation. For example, customer-specific information may includeprior 3D scan data, treatment plan data, or subjective customer feedback(e.g., customer assessment of dental aligner fit). Population-specificinformation may include population-level probabilities of maximum teethmovement and types of movement within a given time period.

The dental modeling computing system 100 may be configured to compare afirst position of a model tooth 202 with a position of a correspondingpatient tooth 402 based on the virtual camera parameter. For example,the virtual camera parameter may indicate a location of a camera withrespect to the patient's dentition when the camera captured the digitalrepresentation 116. The dental modeling computing system 100 may beconfigured to orient the 3D model 200 with respect to a virtual camerabased on the orientation of the patient's dentition with respect to thecamera when the digital representation 116 was captured. For example,the digital representation 116 can include an image including the leftside of the dentition and taken at the same elevation as the dentition.The dental modeling computing system 100 may orient the 3D model suchthat the virtual camera faces the left side of the 3D model 200 and isat the same height as the 3D model 200. The 3D model 200 may be orientedsuch that the portion of the patient's dentition visible in the digitalrepresentation 116 is the same portion of the 3D model that is visibleby the virtual camera.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 9 , the dental modeling computing system100 may be configured to determine a movement for a model tooth. Forexample, tooth positioning engine 112 may be configured to determine atooth movement 902 for a model tooth 202. The tooth movement 902 mayinclude a rotational movement, translational movement, or anycombination thereof. The tooth movement 902 may be to move the modeltooth 202 from a first position to a second position. The secondposition may be based on a position of a corresponding patient tooth 402from at least one digital representation 116. The second position may bebased on a virtual camera parameter. In some embodiments, the secondposition may be based on a subset of a plurality of digitalrepresentations associated with the corresponding patient tooth and thevirtual camera parameter. For example, the tooth movement 902 may resultin a model tooth 202 in a second position that resembles the position ofthe corresponding patient tooth 402 (e.g., same location, orientation,etc.). The tooth movement 902 may define translational movements and/orrotational movements. For example, based on the error metric derivedfrom comparing the model tooth 202 of the 3D model 200 with the patienttooth 402 of the digital representation 116, the tooth positioningengine 112 may determine that to match the position of the patient tooth402, the model tooth 202 may translate in a certain direction and rotateabout a certain axis. Similarly, based on the alignment of the 3D modelwith the virtual camera based on the virtual camera parameter, the toothpositioning engine 112 may determine that to match the position of thepatient tooth 402, the model tooth 202 may translate in a certaindirection and rotate about a certain axis.

In some embodiments, the tooth positioning engine 112 may apply at leastone limitation to the tooth movement 902. For example, the toothpositioning engine 112 may limit the tooth movement 902 based on a toothmovement parameter. The tooth movement parameter may restrict the modeltooth 202 from moving in a certain way. The tooth movement parameter maydefine a range of possible tooth movements for each individual patienttooth. For example, the tooth movement parameter may define a minimumand/or maximum rotational movement the model tooth 202 may move. Theboundaries of the range may be suggested boundaries (e.g., the patienttooth 402 likely did not move beyond this point) or definite boundaries(e.g., the patient tooth 402 could not have moved beyond this point).The definite boundaries may define a hard limit on the possible toothmovements of the model tooth 202 such that the model tooth 202 cannotmove beyond the identified range. The suggested boundaries may be softlimits on the possible tooth movements of the model tooth 202 such thatthe tooth movement 902 may extend beyond the suggested boundaries. Insuch an embodiment, as described in more detail below, a penalty may beapplied to the tooth movement 902 that extends beyond or away from thetooth movement parameter. The tooth movement parameter may be based onvarious factors. For example, a factor may be an adjacent structure. Forexample, a first model tooth 202 may be adjacent to a second model tooth202. If there is no space between the first model tooth 202 and thesecond model tooth 202, the tooth movement parameter may prevent thefirst model tooth 202 from moving in a direction toward the second modeltooth 202.

Another factor may be wear schedule data. For example, a patient tooth402 may only move a certain distance over a certain amount of time. Forexample, the patient tooth 402 may only be able to move laterally 0.25mm in one week. Therefore, if the 3D model is of a patient dentitionfrom one week prior to when the digital representation 116 was taken,the tooth movement parameter may indicate a maximum lateral movement of0.25 mm.

Another factor may be wear time data and/or compliance data. Forexample, a distance a patient tooth 402 can move may be based on thetime the patient actually uses a dental appliance. For example, apatient tooth 402 may be able to move laterally 0.25 mm if a dentalaligner is worn for at least 8 hours a day for 1 week (7 days). The weartime data may indicate that the patient wore the dental aligner for only40 hours. The compliance data may indicate that the patient was only 82%compliant with the instructions. Therefore, the tooth movement parametermay indicate a maximum tooth movement of less than 0.25 mm.

Another factor may be customer feedback. For example, the customerfeedback may include a discomfort level. A higher discomfort level mayindicate a larger movement than a lower level of discomfort. A higherdiscomfort level may also indicate an undesirable movement (e.g., wrongdirection). The customer feedback may also include a fit of the dentalaligner. A poor fit (e.g., loose on the teeth) may indicate a lessermagnitude movement than a proper fit. A poor fit (e.g., too tight on theteeth) may also indicate a greater magnitude of movement or undesirablemovement. The customer feedback may be considered alone or incombination with the wear schedule, wear time, and compliance data.

Another factor may be possible tooth movements. For example, memory 102may include a tooth movement library. The tooth movement library mayinclude learned possible tooth movements associated with each tooth of adentition. The tooth positioning engine 112 may be configured to accessthe tooth movement library to determine the tooth movement parameter forthe model tooth 202. For example, the tooth movement library mayindicate that a tooth may only rotate a predetermined number of degrees,may only move in a certain direction, may only translate a predeterminedamount, etc. The tooth movement parameter may include the data from thetooth movement library to define boundaries or a range of availabletooth movements for the model tooth 202. The learned tooth movements maybe based on clinical data, historically known movements, movementsrecorded in previous cases, etc. For example, the learned toothmovements may be expected movements from a treatment plan or typicalmovements of the teeth as evidenced by previous data. The tooth movementlibrary may also include predicted tooth movements associated with eachtooth of a dentition. For example, based on an initial position of atooth, a second position of the tooth is predicted to move an expectedamount in an expected direction. The tooth positioning engine 112 maylimit available tooth movements of the model tooth 202 based on thetooth movement parameter from the tooth movement library. For example,the tooth positioning engine 112 may restrict the movement of a modeltooth 202 to only the possible tooth movements in the tooth movementlibrary. As explained in more detail below, instead of restrictingcertain movements, the tooth positioning engine 112 may instead applypenalties to tooth movements that deviate from the tooth movementparameter.

Determining and applying the tooth movement parameter increases thespeed of determining the tooth movement by reducing the number ofpossible movements that the tooth can make. The tooth movement parameteralso increases the accuracy of the positioning of a model tooth byeliminating or penalizing movements that are unlikely or not possible bythe model tooth.

An artificial intelligence (AI) model may also be used to determinetooth movements by incorporating real tooth movements and existing datafrom customers. For example, the AI model may be configured to receiveand analyze the actual tooth movements to learn the range of possibletooth movements and adjust the range as the AI model receives more datafrom more iterations. The AI model may learn to discriminate betweenrealistic tooth movements and unrealistic tooth movements based on theactual tooth movements and may apply the realistic tooth movements tothe model tooth 202 over the unrealistic tooth movements. As such, thetooth positioning engine 112 may be configured to move the model tooth202 of the 3D model 200 based on data obtained from the AI model. Insome embodiments, data obtained from the AI model may be used as a checkto ensure a tooth movement determined by the tooth positioning engine112 is realistic given a geometry of the tooth being moved or of anothertooth (e.g., an adjacent tooth or a non-adjacent tooth), a priormovement of the tooth being moved or of another tooth (e.g., an adjacenttooth or a non-adjacent tooth). For example, the data obtained from theAI model may indicate a probability of a tooth moving a certain way(e.g., a magnitude, a direction, a rotation, a degree of impaction oreruption, etc.), and the tooth positioning engine 112 may determine thata determined movement of the tooth is accurate if the probabilityexceeds a threshold.

The tooth movement may also be determined based on receiving digitalrepresentations 116 from a patient at regular intervals. This can modifythe metrics of the system specifically toward the individual patient.For example, a first patient's teeth may move faster than a secondpatient's teeth. If the dental modeling computing system 100 receivesdigital representations 116 from the first patient on a regular basis(e.g., weekly, bi-weekly, etc.) the dental modeling computing system 100may calculate a rate of tooth movement for the first patient. The rateof tooth movement for the first patient may be different from the rateof movement from the second patient. This can personalize the results toeach patient based on previously received data associated with thepatient rather than data based on a sample of other patients.

In some embodiments, the tooth positioning engine 112 may establish aportion of the 3D model 200 as a reference point. The reference pointmay act as an anchor that has a predefined movement. For example, thepredefined movement may include limited movements that the referencepoint may make. In some embodiments, the predefined movement is zero,such that the reference point remains stationary. A model tooth 202moving from a first position to a second position may move relative tothe reference point. The reference point may be a single point of the 3Dmodel 200. The reference point may be a feature of the 3D model 200(e.g., model tooth 202, gingiva, any feature of the 3D model 200). Forexample, the reference point may be a molar of the 3D model 200. In someembodiments, the reference point is multiple molars (e.g., a first molarand a second molar) of the 3D model 200. For example, molars may not beexpected to move, so the tooth positioning engine 112 may identify themolars as the reference points and provides the molars a predefinedmovement of zero with respect to all translational and rotational axes(e.g., the first molar and the second molar remain stationary). In otherembodiments, the tooth positioning engine 112 may provide the referencepoint with a predefined movement that allows some movement, but haslimitations on the magnitude and direction of the movement. For example,the predefined movement may include a predicted movement of a molar(e.g., based on a treatment plan). Identifying a reference point fixessome control parameters to preset values and therefore reducing thenumber of variable parameters. The reference point may reduce the numberof degrees of freedom in which a dentition may move (e.g., prevent thedentition from flipping upside down). The reference point may anchor the3D model in space and prevent an infinite loop of optimization. Thefewer variable parameters and the limitation of movements increases theaccuracy and efficiency of moving a model tooth 202 from a firstposition to a second position that resembles a position of acorresponding patient tooth 402.

The tooth positioning engine 112 may be configured to move the modeltooth 202 of the 3D model 200. The tooth positioning engine 112 may beconfigured to move the model tooth 202 according to the determinedmovement. The movement may identify how the model tooth 202 may movefrom a first position to a second position. The second position may bebased on the position of the corresponding patient tooth 402 from thedigital representation 116. The second position may also be based on thevirtual camera parameter. Moving the model tooth 202 from the firstposition to the second position may include a single step. For example,the tooth positioning engine 112 may determine the movement to apply toa model tooth 202 and the tooth positioning engine 112 may apply themovement to the model tooth 202. Application of the movement to themodel tooth 202 may result in the model tooth 202 being in a positionthat matches a tooth of the patient.

In other embodiments, moving the model tooth 202 from the first positionto the second position may be an iterative process. For example, thetooth positioning engine 112 may identify at least one intermediateposition. The intermediate positions may be based on different positionsof a patient tooth 402 from a plurality of digital representations 116.For example, a first intermediate position may be based on a position ofa patient tooth 402 from a first digital representation 116. A secondintermediate position may be based on a position of the patient tooth402 from a second digital representation 116. The second intermediateposition may be a slight adjustment from the first intermediate positionbased on the position of the patient tooth 402 looking different in thefirst and second digital representations 116. In some embodiments, theintermediate positions may be based on changing a virtual cameraparameter. For example, the virtual camera processing engine 110 maydetermine a virtual camera parameter from a first digital representation116. The first intermediate position may be based on the virtual cameraparameter. The virtual camera processing engine 110 may adjust thevirtual camera parameter based on a second digital representation 116.The second intermediate position may be based on the adjusted virtualcamera parameter. In some embodiments, the position of the patient tooth402 and the virtual camera parameter may be adjusted simultaneously. Insome embodiments, the iterative process may continue until the dentalmodeling computing system 100 reaches a stopping threshold indicatingthat the geometry of the patient tooth is optimized. For example, thestopping threshold may be a predetermined number of iterations. Foranother example, the threshold may be an algorithmic convergence. Forexample, a loss calculated between each iteration may become smaller andsmaller such that the algorithm converges. When the algorithm reaches apredetermined loss threshold, the tooth positioning engine 112 maydetermine the model tooth 202 is in the second position.

The tooth positioning engine 112 may be configured to apply a penalty toa tooth movement. A penalty may indicate that the tooth movement is notsatisfying, or is straying away from, a tooth movement parameter. Forexample, the tooth positioning engine 112 may apply a penalty to a toothmovement when the tooth movement deviates from a tooth movementparameter. The penalty may indicate to the dental modeling computingsystem 100 that the determined tooth movement may not accurately depictthe actual position of the patient tooth 402. The dental modelingcomputing system 100 may use the penalty and the magnitude of thepenalty to determine whether a different tooth movement is moreaccurate. The magnitude of the penalty may vary based on how far awaythe tooth movement is from the tooth movement parameter. For example,the penalty may be proportionate to the magnitude of offset of the toothmovement from the tooth movement parameter. As explained above, thetooth movement parameter may be determined by various factors including,but not limited to, adjacent structures, time lapsed, and possible toothmovements (e.g., from a tooth movement library). The tooth positioningengine 112 may be configured to apply any factor to the tooth movementand determine whether the tooth positioning engine 112 may apply apenalty to the tooth movement. For example, based on the possible toothmovements from the tooth movement library, the tooth positioning engine112 may determine a probability of a tooth movement. If the probabilityis high, the tooth positioning engine 112 may apply no penalty, or a lowpenalty. If the probability is low, the tooth positioning engine 112 mayapply a large penalty. In another example, the tooth positioning engine112 may determine that within the time period between the patient toothmoving from a first position to a second position, the patient tooth 402may move within a range of distances. If the tooth movement is withinthe range, the tooth positioning engine 112 may apply no penalty. If thetooth movement is outside the range, the tooth positioning engine 112may apply a penalty. The penalty may grow the farther away the toothmovement is from the range.

In some embodiments, the tooth positioning engine 112 may analyze thetooth movement with respect to other structures. For example, the toothpositioning engine 112 may determine a tooth movement moves a modeltooth 202 into a structure. If the structure is an adjacent model tooth202, the tooth positioning engine 112 may determine a model tooth 202cannot move into a space that is occupied by another model tooth 202 andapply a penalty to the tooth movement. If the structure is anobstruction identified by the digital representation processing engine108, the tooth positioning engine 112 may determine the model tooth 202may move into the space occupied by the obstruction and not apply apenalty to the tooth movement 902. For example, a tooth movement 902comprising moving the model tooth 202 behind the obstruction may satisfya tooth movement parameter. Moving behind the obstruction may not causethe tooth positioning engine 112 to generate a penalty to apply to thetooth movement 902.

Applying a penalty to a tooth movement increases the accuracy of themovement of the model tooth 202. The penalty highlights tooth movementsthat are not considered likely or possible. The penalty reduces oreliminates the likelihood that the model tooth 202 is moved to aposition that does not accurately resemble the position of the patienttooth 402. In some embodiments, the penalty may increase as a toothmovement moves further away from a tooth movement parameter. In someembodiments, the penalty may act as a hard stop if the magnitude of thepenalty reaches a predetermined threshold. For example, a tooth movementparameter may define a range of distances the patient tooth may moveover a specified time period. The tooth movement parameter may notprevent the model tooth 202 from deviating (e.g., moving beyond theboundaries of the range) from the range. In such a case, a penalty maybe applied to the tooth movement 902 that is outside the range. Apenalty less than a predefined penalty threshold may not prevent thetooth movement 902. However, the penalty may increase the further thetooth movement 902 becomes outside the range. The penalty may preventthe model tooth 202 from undergoing the tooth movement 902 when thepenalty reaches the predefined threshold. The predetermined penaltythreshold may indicate a tooth movement that is unlikely or impossiblefor the patient tooth 402 to move, and therefore prevents the modeltooth 202 from making such a movement.

Based on the tooth movement and any applied penalties, the toothpositioning engine 112 may be configured to generate a second 3D modelcomprising the model tooth 202 from the first 3D model in the secondposition. For example, the tooth positioning engine 112 may move a modeltooth 202 from a first position to a second position, wherein the secondposition is based on a position of a corresponding patient tooth 402from a digital representation 116. In some embodiments, the toothpositioning engine 112 may move a plurality of model teeth 202 to matcha position of a plurality of corresponding patient teeth 402. The toothpositioning engine 112 may be configured to generate the second 3D modelwith the plurality of model teeth 202 in respective second positions.The second 3D model may not include a new mesh. For example, the second3D model may include the same mesh of the model tooth 202 as the first3D model, but at a different position. The second 3D model may indicatestatus of a patient's dentition based on the received digitalrepresentations 116. The dental modeling computing system 100 may beconfigured to generate the second 3D model without using a treatmentplan, wherein the treatment plan defines the position (or at least theexpected position) of the corresponding patient tooth 402. The dentalmodeling computing system 100 may determine the position of the patienttooth 402 solely from the digital representation(s) 116 received. Forexample, the dental modeling computing system 100 may determine theposition based on a 2D image of the patient's dentition. No knowledge ofthe expected position of the patient tooth 402 is used.

Moving the model tooth 202 from the first position to the secondposition may include an iterative process. The iterative process may bedone at any point of the process. For example, determining the patienttooth position may be an iterative process. For example, the digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 may determine a first position froma first digital representation 116, a second position from a seconddigital representation 116, and a third position from a third digitalrepresentation 116. The digital representation processing engine 108 mayanalyze any number of digital representations until it reaches athreshold. For example, the threshold may be a predetermined number ofiterations, number of digital representations, or a plateau in a lossfunction. The threshold may define when the digital representationprocessing engine 108 has determined the accurate position of thepatient tooth.

Determining the virtual camera parameter may be an iterative process.For example, the iterative process may include a plurality of virtualcamera parameter adjustments. The virtual camera processing engine 110may determine a first virtual camera parameter from a first digitalrepresentation 116, a second virtual camera parameter from a seconddigital representation 116, and a third virtual camera parameter from athird digital representation 116. Each virtual camera parameter may bean adjustment from a previous virtual camera parameter. The virtualcamera processing engine 110 may analyze any number of digitalrepresentations until it reaches a threshold. The threshold may definewhen the virtual camera processing engine 110 has determined theaccurate virtual camera parameter. Comparing the first position of themodel tooth 202 with the position of the patient tooth 402 may be aniterative process. For example, the dental modeling computing system 100may orient the 3D model 200 to match an orientation of a patient'sdentition from a first digital representation 116 and compare the firstposition of the model tooth 202 with the position of the correspondingpatient tooth 402 with the 3D model 200 at the first orientation andthen orient the 3D model 200 to match an orientation of a patient'sdentition from a second digital representation 116 and compare the firstposition of the model tooth 202 with the position of the correspondingpatient tooth 402 with the 3D model 200 at the second orientation. Thedental modeling computing system 100 may reorient the 3D model anynumber of times until a threshold is reached. The threshold may definewhen the dental modeling computing system 100 can determine an accuratesecond position for the model tooth 202 based on the position of thepatient tooth 402.

Determining a tooth movement 902 for the model tooth 202 may be aniterative process. For example, the tooth positioning engine 112 maydetermine a first tooth movement 902 from a first digital representation116 and/or virtual camera parameter, a tooth movement 902 from a seconddigital representation 116 and/or virtual camera parameter, and a thirdtooth movement 902 from a third digital representation 116 and/orvirtual camera parameter. The tooth positioning engine 112 may determinemovements until it reaches a threshold. Determining a tooth movement 902may include a plurality of tooth adjustments. For example, the toothpositioning engine 112 may move the model tooth 202 based on the firsttooth movement 902 and adjust the position of the model tooth 202 basedon the second and third tooth movements 902. In some embodiments, theplurality of tooth adjustments and the plurality of virtual cameraparameter adjustments may occur simultaneously. In some embodiments, theplurality of tooth adjustments and the plurality of virtual cameraparameter adjustments may occur at different times. The toothpositioning engine 112 may determine any number of tooth movements 902or move the model tooth 202 any number of times until it reaches athreshold. The threshold may define when the tooth positioning engine112 has determined the accurate tooth movement 902 or the model tooth202 is in the second position.

Referring now to FIG. 10 , a method 1000 of generating a 3D model of adentition is shown, according to an exemplary embodiment. Method 1000may include generating a first 3D model (step 1002), receiving a digitalrepresentation (step 1004), determining a virtual camera parameter (step1006), comparing a position of a model tooth with a position of apatient tooth (step 1008), moving the model tooth (step 1010), andgenerating a second 3D model of a dentition.

At step 1002, one or more processors may generate a first 3D model(e.g., a 3D digital model). The first 3D model may represent a patient'sdentition or a template dentition. To generate the first 3D model, theone or more processors may obtain data associated with the dentition.For example, model generation engine 106 of dental modeling computingsystem 100 may receive data from a computing system. For example, themodel generation engine 106 may receive intraoral scans of a patient'sdentition. The model generation engine 106 may convert the received datainto the first 3D model. In another example, the one or more processorsmay obtain the data by retrieving data from a database. For example, themodel generation engine 106 may retrieve data from memory 102. The datamay include images, dimensions, scans, previously-generated models, etc.of the dentition. The model generation engine 106 may convert theretrieved data into the first 3D model. The first 3D model may include aplurality of model teeth 202. The model generation engine 106 maygenerate a separate mesh for each of the plurality of model teeth 202.

At step 1004, the one or more processors may receive at least onedigital representation. For example, the digital representationprocessing engine 108 of the dental modeling computing system 100 mayreceive at least one digital representation 116. The digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 may receive a plurality of digitalrepresentations 116. The digital representation 116 may be, for example,a 2D image or a video. The digital representation 116 may include aplurality of patient teeth 402. The digital representation processingengine 108 may receive the at least one digital representation 116 froma user device 114. The user device 114 may be at a remote location withrespect to the dental modeling computing system 100. Step 1004 mayinclude filtering the plurality of digital representations 116. Forexample, the digital representation processing engine 108 may designatea subset of the plurality of digital representations 116 as useful. Thedental modeling computing system 100 may use the subset of the pluralityof digital representation 116 for the remaining analysis, calculations,etc. and ignore (e.g., delete, store, etc.) the remaining of theplurality of digital representations 116. Step 1004 may also includeassociating a subset of the plurality of digital representation 116 witha patient tooth. The associated digital representations 116 may be asubset of the filtered digital representations 116. When analyzing apatient tooth 402 from the plurality of digital representations 116, thedental modeling computing system 100 may only refer to the subset of thedigital representations 116 associated with the patient tooth 402.

At step 1006, the one or more processors may determine a virtual cameraparameter. The virtual camera parameter may include at least one valuethat is representative of a setting of a virtual camera. The virtualcamera parameter may correspond with a parameter of a device (e.g., acamera of user device 114) used to capture the digital representation116. The virtual camera parameter may include an extrinsic and/orintrinsic parameter. The extrinsic parameters may correspond with aposition and/or orientation of the virtual camera. The intrinsicparameters may correspond with how the virtual camera manipulates adigital representation 116. For example, an intrinsic parameter maydefine at least one of a perspective or a distortion of a camera. Thevirtual camera processing engine 110 of the dental modeling computingsystem 100 may determine the virtual camera parameter. Determining thevirtual camera parameter may include receiving an input indicating thevirtual camera parameter or calculating the virtual camera parameterbased on the digital representation(s) 116. Calculating the virtualcamera parameter may include analyzing at least one digitalrepresentation 116 to identify characteristics (e.g., settings,positioning, etc.) of the device used to capture the digitalrepresentation 116. For example, calculating the virtual cameraparameter may include comparing a position of a patient tooth 402 in afirst digital representation 116 with a position of the patient tooth402 in a second digital representation 116. Based on a differencebetween the position from the first digital representation 116 and theposition from the second digital representation 116, the virtual cameraprocessing engine 110 may determine the virtual camera parameter. Thevirtual camera processing engine 110 may apply any methods oralgorithms, or any combination thereof, to determine a virtual cameraparameter from the digital representations 116.

At step 1008, the one or more processors may compare a position of amodel tooth with a position of a patient tooth. Step 1008 may includethe one or more processors determining the position of the patienttooth. For example, the tooth positioning engine 112 of the dentalmodeling computing system 100 may identify a position of a patient tooth402 from the digital representation(s) 116. The tooth positioning engine112 may apply the virtual camera parameter to the digital representation116 to identify the position of the patient tooth 402. Determining theposition of the patient tooth 402 may include optimizing the geometry ofthe patient tooth based on the virtual camera parameters. Optimizing thegeometry may include adjusting the patient tooth 402 of the digitalrepresentation 116 based on the virtual camera parameters to betterresemble a realistic position of the patient's tooth. The adjustment canbe made to the actual digital representation 116 or it can just be takeninto account when calculating the position of the patient tooth 402.With the position of the patient tooth 402, the tooth positioning engine112 may compare the position of the patient tooth 402 with acorresponding model tooth 202. In some embodiments, to compare thelocation of the model tooth 202 and the location of the correspondingpatient tooth 402, model tooth 202 from the first 3D model 200 and thepatient tooth 402 from the digital representation 116 are projected intoan NDC space. The tooth positioning engine 112 may calculate an errormetric between the location of the model tooth 202 and the correspondingpatient tooth 402. The tooth positioning engine 112 may use the errormetric to determine a tooth movement 902 for the model tooth 202. Insome embodiments, to compare the position of the model tooth 202 and theposition of the corresponding patient tooth 402, the 3D model 200 may beoriented with respect to a virtual camera based on the virtual cameraparameter. The tooth positioning engine 112 may orient the 3D model 200such that a portion of the 3D model seen by a virtual camera is the sameportion of the patient's dentition that is seen by the camera thatcaptured the digital representation 116. The tooth positioning engine112 may determine a tooth movement 902 based on a difference between thefirst position of the model tooth 202 and the position of thecorresponding patient tooth 402.

At step 1010, the one or more processors may move the model tooth. Forexample, the tooth positioning engine 112 of the dental modelingcomputing system 100 may move the model tooth 202. The tooth positioningengine 112 may move the model tooth 202 from a first position to asecond position. The tooth positioning engine 112 may move the modeltooth 202 to the second position based on the tooth movement 902. Thesecond position and the tooth movement 902 may be based on the positionof the corresponding patient tooth 402 and the virtual camera parameter.The second position is to resemble the position of the correspondingpatient tooth 402 from the digital representation 116.

Steps 1006-1010 may include an iterative process. Any of the steps mayrepeated any number of times and in any order or combination. Forexample, a first virtual camera parameter value may be determined by thevirtual camera processing engine 110. The first virtual camera parametervalue may be used to determine the position of the patient tooth 402from the digital representation 116. Based on the position of thepatient tooth 402 and comparing the position of the patient tooth 402with the position of the model tooth 202, the tooth positioning engine112 may determine a first tooth movement 902 and move the model tooth202 to an intermediate position based on the first tooth movement 902.The tooth positioning engine 112 may compare the intermediate positionof the model tooth 202 with the position of the patient tooth 402. Basedon the error metric identified, the virtual camera parameter maycalculate a second virtual camera parameter value (or adjust the firstvirtual camera parameter). The process may be repeated until theposition of the model tooth 202 matches (within a predetermined degreeor error) the position of the patient tooth 402. The tooth positioningengine 112 may determine the position of the model tooth 202 matches theposition of the patient tooth 402 by applying a threshold. For example,the threshold may include a predetermined number of iterations, a numberof digital representations, or a plateau in a loss function.

At step 1012, the one or more processors may generate a second 3D model(e.g., a 3D digital model). The second 3D model may include the modeltooth 202 in the second position. The second 3D model may include aplurality of model teeth 202 in respective second positions based oncorresponding patient teeth 402 from the digital representation(s) 116.The one or more processors may generate the second 3D model withoutusing a treatment plan, wherein the treatment plan defines the position(or at least the expected position) of the patient teeth 402. Generatingthe 3D model may not include generating a new mesh. She same mesh as thefirst 3D model may be used, with the individual meshes of the modelteeth 202 in different positions.

Now referring to FIG. 11 , a method 1100 of generating a 3D model of adentition is shown, according to an exemplary embodiment. Method 1100may include generating a first 3D model (step 1102), receiving at leastone digital representation (step 1104), and determining whether tofilter the at least one digital representation (step 1106). At step1106, if the digital representations are going to be filtered, method1100 may include identifying useful digital representations (step 1108)and associating the useful digital representations with a patient tooth(step 1110). After filtering the at least one digital representation ordetermining not to filter the at least one digital representation,method 1100 may include determining a virtual camera parameter (step1112), comparing a model tooth position with a corresponding patienttooth position (step 1114), moving a model tooth from a first positionto a second position (step 1116), and determining whether the toothmovement deviates from a movement parameter (step 1118). At step 1118,if the tooth movement does deviate from the movement parameter, method1100 may include penalizing the tooth movement (step 1120). Afterpenalizing the tooth movement or determining the tooth movement does notdeviate from the movement parameter, method 1100 may include determiningwhether a stopping threshold is met (Step 1122). If the stoppingthreshold is not met, additional iterations of steps 1112-1120 in anyorder and any combination may be performed until the stopping thresholdis met. When the stopping threshold is met, method 1100 may includegenerating a second 3D model (step 1124).

At step 1102, one or more processors may generate a first 3D model.Similar to step 1002, the first 3D model may include a plurality ofmodel teeth 202. Generating the first 3D model may include obtainingdata associated with a dentition. The dentition may be a patientdentition or a template dentition. At step 1104, the one or moreprocessors may receive at least one digital representation. Similar tostep 1004, the digital representation 116 may be an image, a pluralityof images, a video, etc. received from a remote user device 114. In someembodiments, at step 1104, the one or more processors may receive aplurality of digital representations 116. For example, the digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 may receive a plurality of imagesfrom a user device 114. The plurality of images may include a pluralityof patient teeth 402.

At step 1106, the one or more processors may determine whether to filterthe at least one digital representation 116. For example, the digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 of the dental modeling computingsystem 100 may determine whether to filter the at least one digitalrepresentation 116. For example, when the digital representationprocessing engine 108 receives a single digital representation 116, thedigital representation processing engine 108 may determine to not filterthe digital representation 116. When the digital representationprocessing engine 108 receives a plurality of digital representations116, the digital representation processing engine 108 may determine tofilter the plurality of digital representations 116. In someembodiments, the digital representation processing engine 108 maydetermine to filter the digital representations 116 based on variousfactors, including but not limited to, number of digital representationsreceived, quality of digital representations received, file size of thedigital representations received, among others. For example, the digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 may determine to filter the digitalrepresentations based on a predetermined threshold number of digitalrepresentations 116 received. For example, the digital representationprocessing engine 108 may filter the digital representations 116 whenthe digital representation processing engine 108 receives ten or moredigital representations 116. The digital representation processingengine 108 may filter the digital representations 116 when the digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 identifies some of the digitalrepresentations are out of focus or blurry. The digital representationprocessing engine 108 may filter the digital representations when theaggregate data size of the digital representations exceeds apredetermined threshold size. For example, the aggregate data sizeexceeds one megabyte. Filtering the digital representations 116 canreduce the storage space required to store the digital representationsby removing some from the system and increase computational speed byreducing the number digital representations 116 the system analyzes togenerate the second 3D model.

When the one or more processors determine to filter the digitalrepresentation 116, at step 1108, the one or more processors mayidentify at least one useful digital representation 116. For example,the digital representation processing engine 108 of the dental modelingcomputing system 100 may identify at least one useful digitalrepresentation 116. The digital representation processing engine 108 mayidentify a subset of a plurality of digital representations 116 that areuseful. The digital representation processing engine 108 may designate adigital representation 116 as useful if the digital representation 116,for example, is in focus (e.g., not blurry, can identify details of thepatient's dentition from the digital representation), includes teeththat are going to be analyzed by the dental modeling computing system100, among others. The digital representation processing engine 108 maydesignate a digital representation 116 as not useful if the digitalrepresentation 116, for example, is not in focus, does not include teeththat are to be analyzed by the dental modeling computing system 100, isa duplicate of another digital representation 116 (e.g., providessubstantially the same information as a different digital representation116). Upon determination of the subset of the plurality of digitalrepresentations 116 that are useful, the digital representationprocessing engine 108 may ignore the remaining of the plurality ofdigital representations 116 that are considered not useful. For example,the digital representation processing engine 108 may delete or removethe not useful digital representation 116 from the dental modelingcomputing system 100. In some embodiments, the digital representationprocessing engine 108 may store the not useful digital representations116 in memory 102 but only use the useful digital representations 116for further analysis and computations.

At step 1110, the one or more processors may associate a digitalrepresentation 116 with a patient tooth. For example, the digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 of the dental modeling computingsystem 100 may associate a digital representation 116 with a patienttooth 402. The digital representation processing engine 108 mayassociate a digital representation 116 with a patient tooth 402 when thedigital representation 116 includes data relevant to the patient tooth402. For example, the digital representation processing engine 108 mayassociate a first digital representation 116 with a first patient tooth402 when the first digital representation 116 includes the first patienttooth 402. The digital representation processing engine 108 mayassociate a second digital representation 116 with a second patienttooth 402 when the second digital representation includes the secondpatient tooth 402. In some embodiments, if any portion of the firstpatient tooth 402 is in the first digital representation 116, thedigital representation processing engine 108 may associate the firstdigital representation 116 with the first patient tooth 402. In someembodiments, the digital representation processing engine 108 mayassociate the first digital representation 116 with the first patienttooth 402 if the first digital representation 116 provides enough dataregarding the first patient tooth 402. For example, enough data may bedetermined by a predetermined portion of a patient tooth 402 beingvisible in the digital representation 116. For example, the digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 may associate the first digitalrepresentation 116 with the first patient tooth 402 if at least 50% ofthe front surface of the first patient tooth 402 is shown.

In some embodiments, a digital representation 116 may be associated witha plurality of patient teeth 402. For example, when the first digitalrepresentation 116 includes both a first patient tooth 402 and a secondpatient tooth 402, the digital representation processing engine 108 mayassociate the first digital representation 116 with both the firstpatient tooth 402 and the second patient tooth 402. A digitalrepresentation 116 may be associated with any number of patient teeth402.

The digital representation processing engine 108 may associate a digitalrepresentation 116 with a patient tooth with or without a subset of aplurality of digital representations 116 being identified as useful atstep 1108. For example, the digital representation processing engine 108may associate all received digital representations 116 with at least onepatient tooth 402 or may associate only the subset of the plurality ofdigital representations 116 with at least one patient tooth 402. In someembodiments, the digital representation processing engine 108 may onlyassociate a threshold number of digital representations 116 with apatient tooth 402. For example, the digital representation processingengine 108 may limit the number of digital representations 116 that maybe associated with a single patient tooth 402. The digitalrepresentation processing engine 108 may determine which set of digitalrepresentations 116 provide the most information regarding the positionof the patient tooth 402, and associate that set of digitalrepresentations 116 with the patient tooth 402. Associating digitalrepresentations 116 with a specific patient tooth 402 reduces thecomputational strain on the system by reducing the volume of data beinganalyzed for a specific patient tooth 402. Associating digitalrepresentations with the specific tooth also increases the efficiencyand accuracy of the system by only analyzing digital representations 116that provide relevant data regarding the specific patient tooth 402.Limiting the number of associations further reduces the computationalstrain and increases the efficiency and accuracy of the system.

At step 1112, the one or more processors may determine a virtual cameraparameter. For example, the virtual camera processing engine 110 of thedental modeling computing system 100 may determine a virtual cameraparameter. The virtual camera parameter may include at least one valuethat is representative of a setting of a virtual camera. The virtualcamera parameter may correspond with a parameter of a device (e.g., acamera of user device 114) used to capture the digital representation116. The virtual camera parameter may include an extrinsic and/orintrinsic parameter. The extrinsic parameters may correspond with aposition and/or orientation of the virtual camera. The intrinsicparameters may correspond with how the virtual camera manipulates adigital representation 116. For example, an intrinsic parameter maydefine at least one of a perspective or a distortion of a camera.Determining the virtual camera parameter may include receiving an inputindicating the virtual camera parameter or calculating the virtualcamera parameter based on the digital representation(s) 116. Calculatingthe virtual camera parameter may include analyzing at least one digitalrepresentation 116 to identify characteristics (e.g., settings,positioning, etc.) of the device used to capture the digitalrepresentation 116. The virtual camera processing engine 110 may applyany methods or algorithms, or any combination thereof, to determine avirtual camera parameter from the digital representations 116.

At step 1114, the one or more processing engines may compare a positionof a model tooth with a positon of a patient tooth. Step 1114 mayinclude the one or more processors determining the position of thepatient tooth. With the position of the patient tooth 402, the toothpositioning engine 112 may compare the position of the patient tooth 402with a corresponding model tooth 202. In some embodiments, to comparethe location of the model tooth 202 and the location of thecorresponding patient tooth 402, model tooth 202 from the first 3D model200 and the patient tooth 402 from the digital representation 116 areprojected into an NDC space. The tooth positioning engine 112 maycalculate an error metric between the location of the model tooth 202and the corresponding patient tooth 402. The tooth positioning engine112 may use the error metric to determine a tooth movement 902 for themodel tooth 202. In some embodiments, to compare the location of themodel tooth 202 and the location of the corresponding patient tooth 402,the 3D model 200 may be oriented with a virtual camera based on thevirtual camera parameter. The tooth positioning engine 112 may orientthe 3D model 200 such that a portion of the 3D model seen by a virtualcamera is the same portion of the patient's dentition that is seen bythe camera that captured the digital representation 116. The toothpositioning engine 112 may determine a tooth movement 902 based on adifference between the first position of the model tooth 202 and theposition of the corresponding patient tooth 402.

At step 1116, the one or more processors may move the model tooth. Forexample, the tooth positioning engine 112 of the dental modelingcomputing system 100 may move the model tooth 202. The tooth positioningengine 112 may move the model tooth 202 from a first position to asecond position. The tooth positioning engine 112 may move the modeltooth 202 to the second position based on the tooth movement 902. Thesecond position and the tooth movement 902 may be based on the positionof the corresponding patient tooth 402 and the virtual camera parameter.The second position is to resemble the position of the correspondingpatient tooth 402 from the digital representation 116.

At step 1118, the one or more processors may determine whether the toothmovement deviates from a tooth movement parameter. For example, toothpositioning engine 112 of the dental modeling computing system 100 maydetermine whether the tooth movement deviates from a movement parameter.Step 1118 may include the one or more processors determining the toothmovement parameter. For example, the tooth positioning engine 112 maydetermine the tooth movement parameter. The tooth movement parameter mayrestrict the model tooth 202 from moving in a certain way. The toothmovement parameter may define a range of possible tooth movements foreach individual patient tooth. For example, the tooth movement parametermay define a minimum and/or maximum rotational movement the model tooth202 may move. The boundaries of the range may be suggested boundaries(e.g., the patient tooth 402 likely did not move beyond this point) ordefinite boundaries (e.g., the patient tooth 402 could not have movedbeyond this point). The tooth positioning engine 112 may determine thetooth movement parameter by, for example, accessing a tooth movementlibrary from memory 102, identifying structures adjacent to the modeltooth 202, applying a treatment plan associated with the patient, or anycombination thereof.

To determine whether the tooth movement deviates from the tooth movementparameter, the tooth positioning engine 112 may compare the actual toothmovement with the boundaries defined by the tooth movement parameter.When the tooth movement exceeds or is outside of the boundaries, thetooth movement may deviate from the tooth movement parameter. When thetooth movement remains within the boundaries, the tooth movement may notdeviate from the tooth movement parameter.

When the one or more processors determine the tooth movement doesdeviate from the tooth movement parameter, at step 1120, the one or moreprocessors may penalize the tooth movement. For example, the toothpositioning engine 112 of the dental modeling computing system 100 mayapply a penalty to the tooth movement. The penalty may indicate to thedental modeling computing system 100 that the tooth movement may not bean accurate representation of the patient tooth 402. Therefore, when thedental modeling computing system 100 analyzes other digitalrepresentations or is solving for other virtual camera parameters, thedental modeling computing system 100 may determine values and movementsthat reduce the penalty on the tooth movement may be more accurate thanvalues and movements that increase the penalty.

Applying the penalty may include preventing a tooth movement. Forexample, the tooth positioning engine 112 may apply a penalty threshold.If a tooth movement reaches the penalty threshold, the tooth positioningengine 112 may restrict the model tooth 202 from moving any further inthe direction of the current tooth movement. In some embodiments, anypenalty may prevent a tooth movement if the boundaries defined by thetooth movement parameter are definite boundaries. For example, adefinite boundary may define a tooth movement that is likely impossible(e.g., flipping a tooth upside down). In such a case, the toothpositioning engine 112 may prevent the tooth movement and prevent themodel tooth 202 from flipping upside down.

At step 1122, the one or more processors may determine whether astopping threshold is met. In some embodiments, steps 1112-1122 mayinclude an iterative process. For example, steps 1112-1122 may beperformed any number of times, in any combination, and in any order.Determining whether a stopping threshold is met may include determiningwhen the iterative process may end. For example, the stopping thresholdmay be a predetermined number of iterations. For another example, thethreshold may be an algorithmic convergence. For example, a losscalculated between each iteration may become smaller and smaller suchthat the algorithm converges. When the algorithm reaches a predeterminedloss threshold, the tooth positioning engine 112 may determine the modeltooth 202 is in the second position. The stopping threshold may definewhen the model tooth 202 is in the second position that accuratelyresembles the position of the corresponding patient tooth 402.

At step 124, the one or more processors may generate a second 3D model.The second 3D model may include the model tooth 202 in the secondposition. In some embodiments, the second 3D model includes a pluralityof model teeth 202, each in a respective second position. The second 3Dmodel may resemble the patient's dentition from the digitalrepresentations 116 received. Generating the second 3D model may notinclude generating a new 3D mesh. The second 3D model may include the 3Dmesh from the first 3D model, with the mesh of the individual modelteeth 202 oriented with the model teeth 202 in the second position.

The embodiments described herein have been described with reference todrawings. The drawings illustrate certain details of specificembodiments that provide the systems, methods and programs describedherein. However, describing the embodiments with drawings should not beconstrued as imposing on the disclosure any limitations that may bepresent in the drawings.

It should be understood that no claim element herein is to be construedunder the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f), unless the element isexpressly recited using the phrase “means for.”

As utilized herein, terms of degree such as “approximately,” “about,”“substantially,” and similar terms are intended to have a broad meaningin harmony with the common and accepted usage by those of ordinary skillin the art to which the subject matter of this disclosure pertains. Itshould be understood by those of skill in the art who review thisdisclosure that these terms are intended to allow a description ofcertain features described and claimed without restricting the scope ofthese features to any precise numerical ranges provided. Accordingly,these terms should be interpreted as indicating that insubstantial orinconsequential modifications or alterations of the subject matterdescribed and claimed are considered to be within the scope of thedisclosure as recited in the appended claims.

It should be noted that terms such as “exemplary,” “example,” andsimilar terms, as used herein to describe various embodiments, areintended to indicate that such embodiments are possible examples,representations, or illustrations of possible embodiments, and suchterms are not intended to connote that such embodiments are necessarilyextraordinary or superlative examples.

The term “coupled” and variations thereof, as used herein, means thejoining of two members directly or indirectly to one another. Suchjoining may be stationary (e.g., permanent or fixed) or moveable (e.g.,removable or releasable). Such joining may be achieved with the twomembers coupled directly to each other, with the two members coupled toeach other using a separate intervening member and any additionalintermediate members coupled with one another, or with the two memberscoupled to each other using an intervening member that is integrallyformed as a single unitary body with one of the two members. If“coupled” or variations thereof are modified by an additional term(e.g., directly coupled), the generic definition of “coupled” providedabove is modified by the plain language meaning of the additional term(e.g., “directly coupled” means the joining of two members without anyseparate intervening member), resulting in a narrower definition thanthe generic definition of “coupled” provided above. Such coupling may bemechanical, electrical, or fluidic.

The term “or,” as used herein, is used in its inclusive sense (and notin its exclusive sense) so that when used to connect a list of elements,the term “or” means one, some, or all of the elements in the list.Conjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, and Z,”unless specifically stated otherwise, is understood to convey that anelement may be either X, Y, Z; X and Y; X and Z; Y and Z; or X, Y, and Z(i.e., any element on its own or any combination of X, Y, and Z). Thus,such conjunctive language is not generally intended to imply thatcertain embodiments require at least one of X, at least one of Y, and atleast one of Z to each be present, unless otherwise indicated.

References herein to the positions of elements (e.g., “top,” “bottom,”“above,” “below”) are merely used to describe the orientation of variouselements in the drawings. It should be noted that the orientation ofvarious elements may differ according to other exemplary embodiments,and that such variations are intended to be encompassed by the presentdisclosure.

As used herein, the term “engine” may include hardware andmachine-readable media storing instructions thereon for configuring thehardware to execute the functions described herein. The engine may beembodied as one or more circuitry components including, but not limitedto, processing circuitry, network interfaces, peripheral devices, inputdevices, output devices, sensors, etc. In some embodiments, the enginemay take the form of one or more analog circuits, electronic circuits(e.g., integrated circuits (IC), discrete circuits, system on a chip(SOCs) circuits, etc.), telecommunication circuits, hybrid circuits, andany other type of circuit. In this regard, the engine may include anytype of component for accomplishing or facilitating achievement of theoperations described herein. For example, an engine as described hereinmay include one or more transistors, logic gates (e.g., NAND, AND, NOR,OR, XOR, NOT, XNOR, etc.), resistors, multiplexers, registers,capacitors, inductors, diodes, wiring, and so on).

An engine may be embodied as one or more processing circuits comprisingone or more processors communicatively coupled to one or more memory ormemory devices. In this regard, the one or more processors may executeinstructions stored in the memory or may execute instructions otherwiseaccessible to the one or more processors. The one or more processors maybe constructed in a manner sufficient to perform at least the operationsdescribed herein. In some embodiments, the one or more processors may beshared by multiple engines (e.g., engine A and engine B may comprise orotherwise share the same processor which, in some example embodiments,may execute instructions stored, or otherwise accessed, via differentareas of memory).

Alternatively or additionally, the one or more processors may bestructured to perform or otherwise execute certain operationsindependent of one or more co-processors. In other example embodiments,two or more processors may be coupled via a bus to enable independent,parallel, pipelined, or multi-threaded instruction execution. Eachprocessor may be provided as one or more suitable processors,application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field programmablegate arrays (FPGAs), digital signal processors (DSPs), or other suitableelectronic data processing components structured to execute instructionsprovided by memory. The one or more processors may take the form of asingle core processor, multi-core processor (e.g., a dual coreprocessor, triple core processor, quad core processor, etc.),microprocessor, etc. In some embodiments, the one or more processors maybe external to the apparatus, for example the one or more processors maybe a remote processor (e.g., a cloud based processor). Alternatively oradditionally, the one or more processors may be internal and/or local tothe apparatus. In this regard, a given engine or components thereof maybe disposed locally (e.g., as part of a local server, a local computingsystem, etc.) or remotely (e.g., as part of a remote server such as acloud based server). To that end, engines as described herein mayinclude components that are distributed across one or more locations.

An example system for providing the overall system or portions of theembodiments described herein might include one or more computers,including a processing unit, a system memory, and a system bus thatcouples various system components including the system memory to theprocessing unit. Each memory device may include non-transient volatilestorage media, non-volatile storage media, non-transitory storage media(e.g., one or more volatile and/or non-volatile memories), etc. In someembodiments, the non-volatile media may take the form of ROM, flashmemory (e.g., flash memory such as NAND, 3D NAND, NOR, 3D NOR, etc.),EEPROM, MRAM, magnetic storage, hard discs, optical discs, etc. In otherembodiments, the volatile storage media may take the form of RAM, TRAM,ZRAM, etc. Combinations of the above are also included within the scopeof machine-readable media. In this regard, machine-executableinstructions comprise, for example, instructions and data which cause ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or special purposeprocessing machines to perform a certain function or group of functions.Each respective memory device may be operable to maintain or otherwisestore information relating to the operations performed by one or moreassociated circuits, including processor instructions and related data(e.g., database components, object code components, script components,etc.), in accordance with the example embodiments described herein.

Although the drawings may show and the description may describe aspecific order and composition of method steps, the order of such stepsmay differ from what is depicted and described. For example, two or moresteps may be performed concurrently or with partial concurrence. Also,some method steps that are performed as discrete steps may be combined,steps being performed as a combined step may be separated into discretesteps, the sequence of certain processes may be reversed or otherwisevaried, and the nature or number of discrete processes may be altered orvaried. The order or sequence of any element or apparatus may be variedor substituted according to alternative embodiments. Accordingly, allsuch modifications are intended to be included within the scope of thepresent disclosure as defined in the appended claims. Such variation maydepend, for example, on the software and hardware systems chosen and ondesigner choice. All such variations are within the scope of thedisclosure. Likewise, software implementations of the described methodscould be accomplished with standard programming techniques withrule-based logic and other logic to accomplish the various connectionsteps, processing steps, comparison steps, and decision steps.

The foregoing description of embodiments has been presented for purposesof illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive orto limit the disclosure to the precise form disclosed, and modificationsand variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may beacquired from this disclosure. The embodiments were chosen and describedin order to explain the principals of the disclosure and its practicalapplication to enable one skilled in the art to utilize the variousembodiments and with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. Other substitutions, modifications, changesand omissions may be made in the design, operating conditions, andarrangement of the embodiments without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure as expressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: generating, by one or more processors, a first 3D model of a dentition, the dentition comprising a model tooth in a first position; receiving, by the one or more processors, a digital representation comprising a patient tooth, the patient tooth corresponding to the model tooth of the first 3D model; determining, by the one or more processors, a virtual camera parameter associated with the digital representation; adjusting, by the one or more processors, the virtual camera parameter to determine a 3D position of the corresponding patient tooth; moving, by the one or more processors, the model tooth of the first 3D model from the first position to a second position, wherein the second position corresponds to the 3D position of the corresponding patient tooth; and generating, by the one or more processors, a second 3D model comprising the model tooth of the first 3D model in the second position.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual camera parameter comprises an extrinsic parameter, the extrinsic parameter defining at least one of a translational matrix or a rotational matrix of a camera used to capture the digital representation.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual camera parameter comprises an intrinsic parameter, the intrinsic parameter defining a distortion of a camera used to capture the digital representation.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing a reference point of the 3D model, wherein the model tooth of the first 3D model moves relative to the reference point, the reference point comprising a predefined movement.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the reference point comprises a first molar or a second molar of the 3D model, wherein the predefined movement of the first molar or the second molar comprises remaining stationary.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the one or more processors, a plurality of digital representations, wherein the plurality of digital representations comprise at least one of a plurality of individually captured images or a video; identifying, by the one or more processors, a subset of the plurality of digital representations, wherein each of the subset of the plurality of digital representations comprises a predetermined portion of the corresponding patient tooth; and associating, by the one or more processors, the subset of the plurality of digital representations with the corresponding patient tooth; wherein the second position of the model tooth is based on the subset of the plurality of digital representations associated with the corresponding patient tooth and the virtual camera parameter.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: limiting, by the one or more processors, a tooth movement based on a tooth movement parameter; and applying, by the one or more processors, a penalty to the tooth movement when the tooth movement deviates from the tooth movement parameter.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the tooth movement parameter defines a range of possible tooth movements.
 9. The method of claim 7, further comprising: accessing, by the one or more processors, a tooth movement library to determine the tooth movement parameter for the model tooth of the first 3D model; and limiting, by the one or more processors, available tooth movements of the model tooth of the first 3D model based on the tooth movement parameter from the tooth movement library.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein the penalty prevents the model tooth from undergoing a possible tooth movement based on the penalty reaching a predefined threshold.
 11. The method of claim 7, further comprising: designating, by the one or more processors, a feature in the digital representation as an obstruction, wherein the tooth movement comprising moving the model tooth behind the obstruction satisfies the tooth movement parameter.
 12. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, by the one or more processors, a plurality of digital representations, including the digital representation; estimating, by the one or more processors, the virtual camera parameter based on a first digital representation of the plurality of digital representations; and adjusting, by the one or more processors, the virtual camera parameter based on one or more of the remaining digital representations of the plurality of digital representations until at least one of: a size of an adjustment is less than a threshold value; or a threshold number of the remaining digital representations has been analyzed to adjust the virtual camera parameter.
 13. The method of claim 1, further comprising: adjusting, iteratively, by the one or more processors, the virtual camera parameter to determine the 3D position of the corresponding patient tooth; and applying, by the one or more processors, a threshold to an iterative tooth adjustment count, the threshold defining when the model tooth is in the second position within a threshold degree of accuracy.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the threshold comprises at least one of a fixed number of iterations or a plateau in a loss function.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors do not use a treatment plan to generate the second 3D model with the model tooth in the second position, wherein the treatment plan defines an expected position of the corresponding patient tooth.
 16. The method of claim 1, further comprising: modifying a geometry of the corresponding patient tooth of the digital representation based on the virtual camera parameter; and comparing the first position of the model tooth of the first 3D model with the position of the corresponding patient tooth of the digital representation based on the modified geometry of the corresponding patient tooth of the digital representation.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein a shape of the model tooth is based on a shape of a template tooth from a template model dentition.
 18. A system comprising: one or more processors; and a memory coupled with the one or more processors, wherein the memory is configured to store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: generate a first 3D model of a dentition, the dentition comprising a model tooth in a first position; receive a digital representation comprising a patient tooth, the patient tooth corresponding to the model tooth of the first 3D model; determine a virtual camera parameter associated with the digital representation; adjust the virtual camera parameter to determine a 3D position of the corresponding patient tooth; move the model tooth of the first 3D model from the first position to a second position, the second position corresponding to the 3D position of the corresponding patient tooth; and generate a second 3D model comprising the model tooth of the first 3D model in the second position.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the instructions, when executed by the one or more processors, further cause the one or more processors to: receive a plurality of digital representations, wherein the plurality of digital representations comprise at least one of a plurality of individually captured images or a video; identify a subset of the plurality of digital representations, wherein each of the subset of the plurality of digital representations comprises a predetermined portion of the corresponding patient tooth; and associate the subset of the plurality of digital representations with the corresponding patient tooth; wherein the second position of the model tooth is based on the subset of the plurality of digital representations associated with the corresponding patient tooth and the virtual camera parameter.
 20. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: generate a first 3D model of a dentition, the dentition comprising a model tooth in a first position; receive a digital representation comprising a patient tooth, the patient tooth corresponding to the model tooth of the first 3D model; determine a virtual camera parameter associated with the digital representation; adjust the virtual camera parameter to determine a 3D position of the corresponding patient tooth; move the model tooth of the first 3D model from the first position to a second position, the second position corresponding to a 3D position of the corresponding patient tooth; and generate a second 3D model comprising the model tooth of the first 3D model in the second position. 